


In Space, No One Can Hear You Fall In Love

by tumblingStar



Category: Among Us (Video Game)
Genre: Black becomes a parent but doesn't start out as one, Other, Purple is a parent, Slow Burn, and add more tags, potential smut which means if i get around to that i'll change the rating, theres some worldbuilding here and by that i mean my kinnie memories are kicking into high gear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:33:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27028891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tumblingStar/pseuds/tumblingStar
Summary: Iris Corcra packed up and left the Mother Planet very suddenly, intent on sailing across the universe to settle down with their children on a new planet. A fresh new start would be great for all three of them; especially with their children being so young. If Iris was lucky, their son won't even remember anything about... well, there's no use thinking about that now, is there?But there have been increasing reports of ships and outposts being attacked by Impostors; shape-shifting aliens targeting human ships and labs, though not their settlements, for unknown reasons. But it was a rare enough occurrence... surely Iris won't have to worry about such a thing. Right?*He's infiltrated the ship, just like he was supposed to. She's there as well. They both know what they have to do. So why is he so reluctant to get started? Why is this human affecting him the way they are?
Relationships: Black/Purple (Among Us), Crewmate/Impostor (Among Us)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 55





	1. This Great Galaxy

The Skeld had just launched a few hours ago, and Iris was sitting by the windows in the Cafeteria to watch the stars. They’d put their children to bed just an hour ago, and though ordinarily they wouldn’t leave, so they could better keep an eye on the little ones, their suit had programming that would notify them if something was up. 

Other crewmates drifted in and out of the Cafeteria, likely as restless as Iris was. People tended to lack the capability to sleep as well in new environments, especially when that environment was lightyears from the Mother Planet. Iris had done their research, and they and their children’s quarters were filled with plants to help keep their silly little plant-loving monkey brains calm. Iris had always loved plants anyway, and had filled their house with them before— 

Well. That didn’t quite matter anymore. 

Movement from the corner of Iris’s visor drew their attention, and they turned to see Black sitting down next to them. Their own movement, presumably, drew his attention—they could see a single green eye and blond wisps of hair through where both of their visors cut off each other’s faces. The helmets didn’t exactly turn with their heads, after all. 

Black’s cheek rounded out in a smile, and he waved cheerily before pressing a button on his forearm tablet, meant for adjusting settings. The radio in Iris’s helmet crackled to life, and a smooth, deep, friendly voice—mangled by aged speakers—filtered into Iris’s helmet. “Hey! I’m Mavros Noir. What’s your name, Purple?” 

Iris smiled back, and pressed their own button. “Iris Corcra.” 

“Nice to meet you, Corcra.” 

“You too, Noir.” 

“You’re the one with children, right?” 

Iris beamed. “I do have two beautiful babies, yes.” 

Mavros cocked his head to the side, bringing more of his face into Iris’s field of vision. “Then what made you board the Skeld?” 

“Beg pardon?” 

“Oh—no, I just realized how that sounds.” Mavros visibly cringed. “I didn’t mean that like, ‘shouldn’t you be at home in the kitchen pumping out babies because that’s all women are good for,’ I meant, what prompted you to uproot your family and abandon the planet?” 

Iris appreciated his quick correction, and made a mental note to correct his assumption of them being a woman later, instead gesturing to the scene outside. “This.” 

The stretch of the galaxy beyond them glimmered with shining stars and colorful nebulous clouds. You couldn’t find a view like this anywhere on the Mother Planet anymore—though all electricity was solar powered and clean, light pollution was still a very present issue. The last time Iris had seen stars at all, they were a small child, and even then there hadn’t been nearly so many as this. This was a sight they’d only ever dreamed of. 

“There are a few other reasons, but they’re not as important.” Iris shrugged. “This is all I’ve ever wanted.” 

Mavros was silent for a moment, and then his voice crackled back into being. “You know, I get it. I’ve been out here long enough that sometimes it loses its effect, but all I’ve gotta do is sit down and appreciate it again to… well, to appreciate it again.” 

Iris nodded, understanding, but not relating. “I don’t know if I’ll ever not be starstruck by this view.” 

“You may not have the time to get used to it.'' There was a note of something in Mavros’s voice, unidentifiable over the radio, but when Iris looked back at him his regal, smooth features were clear and neutral, absently smiling, like that was his default. How cheerful. He glanced at iris and quickly added, “Depending on how long you’ll be out here, I mean. You dropping off at Polus?” 

“For a while, then we’ll be hopping onto another ship planet-bound.” There were plenty of planets to choose from, and Iris was aiming for one where a successful colony had already been established and running for a while. Still new enough that they could have a little cottage in the woods with their children, running to a small town for groceries, sewing their own clothes, just… something sweet and relaxing, but still with modern amenities and a prominent lack of struggle. They were eager to learn about the new flora and fauna of other planets. They turned to Mavros. “What about you, Noir? You sound like you’ve been aboard the ship for a while now.” 

Mavros nodded. “Not this ship specifically, but yeah, my whole life. I was born on a ship, I grew up on ships. I’ve never really spent more than a couple months on any planet before hopping back home.” 

“That sounds lonely.” Iris said without thinking. They quickly yanked their hand away from the comm button, feeling their face heat with shame, and started to apologize, only realizing they weren’t _holding the button to be able to communicate their apology—_

Mavros didn’t seem offended by the statement, mulling it over instead. “I suppose it could seem that way to some. I never felt very lonely growing up, though, if I’m honest. The company wasn’t bad.” 

“Well, there’s that at least.” Iris chuckled, relieved that he hadn’t taken offense. They checked the time on their tablet and got up. “I gotta get back to my quarters to keep an eye on my kids, before I put my foot in my mouth again. It was nice to meet you, Noir.” 

“See you tomorrow,” Mavros said, and then waved.


	2. Words in the Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEARLY 100 HITS IN THREE DAYS???? This has gotta be the result of posting for a fandom that's like Actually Active this has NEVER happened to me before. Thank y'all so much for reading I guess!!

The next several days were spent establishing a schedule. Iris woke up, showered quickly, got Hyacinth up and into his suit, got Violet up and into her suit, put on their own suit, headed to the Cafeteria for breakfast. After that, the day was spent doing various tasks to keep the ship running smoothly— _the Skeld_ was an old ship, libel to fail if constant maintenance were neglected. Iris was sure it only still qualified as transport-worthy rather than permanently grounded was because of the shortage of space-faring ships in the recent years that motivated HQ to bend the rules just a bit—although the captain’s undying love for the clunker surely played a role. There was a pause in tasks for lunch and dinner, and then it was time for bed, when Iris bathed their children and tucked them away in their pods. 

During meals, Iris tried to get to know their fellow crewmates. Pink was a cheerful man a little younger than they were, who dreamed of falling in love on whichever planet called to him. Green was a no-nonsense but not unwelcoming woman who seemed to have seen a lot and experienced even more. Cyan was enthusiastic about mechanics and seemed to adore every inch of _the Skeld_ , which endeared her to Red, the captain. Red was a quiet man who seemed very similar to Green—he’d seen and done many things over his years managing _the Skeld_ , but it left him kind even if closed off. Brown was almost absolutely silent, nearly forgettably so. Orange and Blue were brothers, sticking together and not really talking to anyone else either, though they made humorous commentary to each other just loud enough for the others to hear every now and then. Lime was a young lady, barely out of her teens, who had an optimistic attitude and an infatuation with Yellow. Yellow was crass and rude, nasty to everyone except Lime, whose attention seemed to feed him, as if he were a vampire siphoning her lifesblood out of her. The relationship reminded Iris of a situation they’d been in not too long ago, but their every warning was met with the arrogance of a girl who thought she knew everything because she was newly grown-up and looked down on Iris for trying to help, so they stopped trying to intervene. It was Lime’s mistake to make. 

~~Besides, if Lime was anything like they were, she’d manage just fine on her own.~~

But the crewmates who drew Iris’s attention more than anyone else were White and Black. 

Mavros Noir was friendly. He seemed to like jumping into conversations and making people laugh. As much as Iris was content to fade into the background, he always made a point to invite them into his interactions, asking their opinions and such. He seemed as fascinated by them as they were with him—and he’d been starstruck the first time he’d seen them take off their helmet to eat. Iris knew they were pretty, but they were by no means beautiful or gorgeous enough to warrant a reaction like that. Their eyes were large, their lips not particularly full but not thin, their nose straight but for the upward tilt at the very tip, their dark brown curls kept manageable in their helmet by the cloth headband holding their hair back from their face. Mavros, by contrast, was stunning—golden hair pulled back into a long ponytail, eyes as green as emeralds that seemed to pierce into the heart of them, features regal and smooth and somewhat elven—Iris almost wanted to compare him to a Faerie Prince from folklore from the Lost World. Iris liked him. They wanted to build a relationship with him—not necessarily romantic. They didn’t yet know him well enough for a romantic tinge to their interest. If it came along naturally for both of them, then excellent! But the goal was friendship. Iris had been so terribly low on friends since even before Hyacinth had been born; they welcomed this opportunity to make one. 

There was just one obstacle. 

Iris was awful with names, and had difficulty remembering the ones their crewmates had given, but White had never bothered to introduce herself. She hung back from the crowding tables during mealtimes, barely spoke a word, and radiated this air of… blankness. The other crewmates had that natural energy to them that people had—Red was calm, keeping everyone under control. Yellow was boisterous and loud, even with his sourness. Mavros was as comforting as he was friendly. White was… nothing. Not even hostility. And when she wasn’t staring intently at Mavros, head swiveling as he migrated from table to table, she was staring at Iris and their children. 

It was that staring that unsettled and enraged Iris. 

There wasn’t anything to take to Red about the situation. There could be a million and a half reasons for the staring. But Iris always double checked to make sure Violet was strapped into the baby sling on their back securely and held Hyacinth close whenever they knew White was going to be in the vicinity. 

Aside from that, the trip was going smoothly. As the days progressed, Mavros began spending more and more time with Iris. It seemed like he wanted to get to know them better as much as they wanted to know him. He’d follow them out of Cafeteria to their first task, keeping Hyacinth occupied with handshake games or little dances or rock-paper-scissors while until Iris completed it, and then gesture for Iris to follow him to his own tasks. They rarely spoke—it was hard to hear anyone through two layers of suits, and using the comms often required both hands, what with the tablet and the push-to-talk buttons—but their body language tended to be enough. _I’ll follow you. Do you need to MedScan? I’m turning here. Don’t get too far ahead of me._ As long as they could see each other, they could still communicate. 

So, of course, the lights went out completely about two weeks into the journey. 

Iris had just finished with the task in Weapons, shooting asteroids flying towards the ship, and was getting out of the seat as the lights died. For a moment, there was complete blackness, before the flashlight built into their suit flickered to a very dull, barely illuminating light. Instinctively they listened for their son’s footsteps so they could reach for him, but they were nearly deaf—and now nearly blind—in their suit. 

A fist gripped their heart, as they whirled around wildly, looking for a glimpse of purple in their limited field of vision. They reached for their tablet—Violet’s vitals looked normal, she was sleeping, but Hyacinth’s heart was beating erratically, because he was afraid of the dark—and pressed their comms button. “Hyacinth?! Honey, stay where you are—” 

Their speakers crackled to life, Mavros’s deep soothing voice becoming even more so with his words. “I’ve got him, he’s okay.” 

Iris let out a shaky sigh of relief. “Oh, thank the gods.” 

“We’re just inside of the doorway leading to Cafeteria. As soon as the lights went out I picked him up so I wouldn’t lose him, but he’s really upset.” 

Iris started moving towards the doorway, slowly, cautiously, to make sure they didn’t smack into a wall. “He’s scared of the dark. He’s only four. Oh, I see you—here, give him to me.” 

They had to nearly stand on top of each other to be in each other's view, but the sight of him still eased Iris, especially with their son in his arms. Hyacinth clung to them as soon as he was presented to them, and they braced him on their hip and held him as tightly as they could. His little body shook with sobs that they could hear ever-so-faintly through their suit, and they shifted and hugged him tighter so they could use their comm. 

“Hey, honeylove,” they said softly, sinking to their knees to hold him better. “It’s okay, baby, you’re safe with me. Aba’s not gonna let anything hurt you, you’re okay. I bet somebody’s on their way to fix the lights right now, and then you’ll be able to see that there’s no monster waiting in the darkness. We’re on a ship in outer space! No one can even get on the ship but impostors, and impostors don’t hurt little kids.” 

That was true; reports of ships that had been taken over by impostors and found floating aimlessly in space told of entire crews slaughtered and eaten by impostors, save for the children, who had been taken care of. Medical examinations found no evidence of mental or physical harm, no parasites, nothing—like the children had been cared for by a loving parent. 

The fact didn’t seem to ease Hyacinth at all. He clung to Iris harder, in fact, and Iris made soothing noises into the comm, puzzled. 

Mavros crouched down, and Iris could see his hand on his forearm tablet. “And I’m not gonna let the impostor hurt your aba, either, kiddo. I’ll fight any impostor who tries, and I’ll win, and you two are gonna be safe forever and ever and ever.” 

Oh. _Of course_ —his entire life had been turned upside down in just a month and a half. His only constant was Iris theirself and Violet, a baby. Of course he would be just as afraid to lose his abather as he was of getting hurt. 

“That’s right.” Iris assured him, shooting Mavros a grateful glance that they weren’t sure he could see, since they could barely see him through his visor in the darkness. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.” 

Hyacinth seemed comforted by that. Comforted enough for Iris to stand up, a new plan forming in their mind. If they could get to the emergency meeting button, the emergency lights and O2 would kick in, overriding the shortage of the normal lights and transporting everyone potentially lost in the ship to the Cafeteria. From there someone would be able to hurry to Electrical and fix them before the emergency meeting was closed and the lights went off again. They shuffled down the hallway, Mavros right behind them—probably not having a clue what they were planning, but that was okay—but before they even reached Cafeteria, that stomach-twisting sensation of being dematerialized and rematerialized struck them. They appeared at the center table in Cafeteria, light flicking to life, surrounded by other crewmates, and for a moment they thought _Oh, excellent, someone had the same idea as me and got to it first_. 

Then Lime threw her helmet off, looking pale and ill and panicked. She was trembling like a leaf. 

Her voice shook as she said, “I found Cyan’s body in Electrical.”


	3. The Tension Builds

Cyan’s body? Cyan?! 

Iris’s head turned to the empty spot at the table, and then to the windows of the cafeteria. _The Skeld_ , like all space-faring ships, transported a corpse to the airlock and automatically flushed it upon detection, at intervals such as these emergency meetings. Sure enough, there was already a flash of light blue floating away from the ship. 

_Cyan…_ She had _loved_ this ship. 

Red had to clear his throat before he could speak, drawing the attention of everyone at the table. “How did you find it?” 

Lime leaned onto the table, pressing her weight against the metal, like she was trying to still her trembling hands. “I—I went to Electrical to turn the lights on. I tripped over her. There was—there was so much blood. I didn’t… I didn’t see anyone else.” 

“Does this mean there’s an impostor on board, sir?” Orange asked, raising his hand. His voice was tight, much like how Iris’s throat felt—how they were willing to bet everyone’s throat felt. They hadn’t even known Cyan that well. It was just the fact that they’d been so… everyone had… jesus christ. A crewmate had died. A crewmate _died_. 

_Who was next?_

Green answered when Red didn’t. “It’s unclear. It could have been some sort of accident, but I won’t deny that it sounds suspicious. Where was everyone when the lights went out?” 

“My brother and I were in Reactor.” Blue offered. “We saw Pink heading down to Lower Engine.” 

“I had a task there.” Pink confirmed. “I passed by them.” 

“Lime left me in Storage when she went for the lights.” Yellow established. 

“Purple and I were in Weapons.” Mavros spoke up. “Their son was afriad of the dark, we were tying to calm him down.” 

“I was just headed for the button to turn the light back on,” Iris said. Their stomach turned. They held Hyacinth tighter to them, even though he wasn’t crying anymore. 

“I was in MedBay.” White added. 

“I was in Communications.” Green turned to Red. 

The captain sighed. “And I was plotting our course in Navigations. Alright. For now we stick together. Groups of two or three. This way if someone dies, we know who did it.” 

“That’s it?” Yellow demanded. “We’re just going back to tasks? No suspects?! No _votes_?!” 

Red’s voice was harder than its usual sternness. The tough-to-read expression on his face melted to a straight glare. “We don’t have any leads. We just lost a crew member. I’m not eager to toss another one out over what could just have been a horrible accident. Unless you’re volunteering?” 

Yellow’s expression soured, like he’d bit into a lemon. He didn’t say anything. 

Red nodded. “That’s what I thought.” He turned back to the rest of the crew, nodding once as he lifted his helmet. “Groups of two or three.” 

The group slowly dispersed. Iris put their helmet back on and pressed their tablet. “Hey, lovely, you doing okay?” 

“Wha’ happen’?” Hyacinth asked in his four-year-old lisp. “I could—I cou—I didn’ hear you.” 

“Oh, it’s just everyone got scared by the dark,” Iris lied. _They couldn’t tell their child there might be a monster on the ship _. “Everything’s gonna be okay though, don’t worry.”__

__“Hokay,” Hyacinth hummed and snuggled into Iris’s shoulder._ _

__Iris turned to Mavros, and saw White right at his shoulder. Through her visor, Iris could see her alabaster skin and unsettlingly pale blue eyes, trained on Hyacinth._ _

__Mavros didn’t look happy about the situation himself, but before he could press the tip of his glove to his forearm tablet, Iris did theirs._ _

__“Hey, you two stick together,” they offered with a smile. “I’m gonna hang with the captain and Green.”_ _

__Mavros looked surprised for a moment, then gave them a brief smile. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll meet back up with you at dinner.”_ _

__Iris nodded, turned, and fled to the hall. They caught up with Green and Red midway through, and the two turned to them as they arrived._ _

__“Don’t you usually group up with Black?” Green asked._ _

__Iris nodded and held their tablet. “Yeah, but White got to him before I did, and I don’t like the way she watches my kids. Not to point fingers! I don’t think she’s the impostor, if there is one, I just—” “_ _

__Yeah I don’t like the way she looks at any a’ y’all.” Red interjected. “Hang with us, Purple. You got tasks?”_ _

__“Yeah, but they can wait.” Iris replied. “I’ll follow you guys.”_ _

__Green patted their back comfortingly. Iris followed them into Communications in silence, before Green pressed the comm button on their tablet. “What was that, Captain?”_ _

__Red’s shoulders heaved, like he was sighing, and he paused his task to respond. “I said, I’m hoping to all the gods this isn’t happening again.”_ _

__Iris’s blood went cold. “You’ve dealt with impostors before?”_ _

__Green nodded grimly. “Few years ago. Got nearly all of us before we cough the last one in the act. Our Brown was never the same after that. Was his last trip on _the Skeld_.” _ _

__Iris couldn’t blame him. They were already considering the pros and cons of just settling on the Polus base, to avoid the risk of a flight to their planned planet. It was ridiculous, of course, ingenuine, but still… “I’m so sorry.”_ _

__“Yeah, well.” Red finished his task. “Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. You just focus on getting your kids safely to Polus and then safely to your new home.”_ _

__Iris loosened their grip on Hyacinth just enough to learn back, and see he was sleeping. Crying must’ve tuckered him out. They checked Violet’s vitals; perfectly content, awake but not fussing, mesmerized by the shows meant for infant education playing inside her helmet. “They’ve always been my top priority.”_ _

__Green lead them towards the lower hallway, towards Shields and Communication. “It said in your file that you’re a new widow, didn’t it?”_ _

__If Iris had hackles, they would have raised. “That’s right.”_ _

__“I’m sorry for your loss.” the woman sounded genuinely mournful. Iris appreciated it, but above all they were relieved._ _

__“Oh, it’s alright.” they replied. “I’m managing. The change of scenery is helping a lot, and Mavros’s company. Ah, Black’s company, that is.”_ _

__Red’s voice was amused. “Already on first-name basis with him, huh?”_ _

__“He’s very friendly.” Iris defended, careful to keep their voice neutral and the flush from their cheeks._ _

__And then they remembered a crewmate had died not half an hour ago, and they sobered again. It didn’t feel appropriate to be all flustered and infatuated over someone when the stakes were so high, and a death had just occurred._ _

__The rest of the day passed without event, and Iris prayed that that was the end of it. Poor Cyan had been carrying something sharp and accidentally stabbed herself through when she tripped in Electrical, they decided. A tragedy. Not a murder._ _

__At dinner, White didn’t stare for the first time. She still ate alone and shot glares Mavros’s way, but she didn’t stare. Mavros chatted and joked like normal, but there was a tension to his jaw, an iciness to his eyes, that pleaded for Iris not to ask what had happened during tasks._ _

__Hopefully, the worst of the trip was over._ _

__In their quarters, Violet was a happy babbly baby, thrilled to get to practice walking a little more as Iris bathed her brother. Iris didn’t like confining Violet to a baby sling strapped tightly against their oxygen tank, only free to really socialize and mobilize for a couple hours before bed each day, but it was only a few months. Iris couldn’t stay on the Mother Planet, not after what had happened with their husband. They'd _needed_ to leave. _ _

__It was only a month and a half at most, and that half had already passed. It wasn’t great for Violet’s development, but there would be plenty of time to physically hold her and help her learn how to walk and talk and be a person when they were safe and sound on a new planet._ _

__Just as long as they made it there alive._ _


	4. No Closer to the Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christ in a sidecar, thank you guys so much for all your comments and support! Nothing else has ever helped to motivate me to write like the knowledge that people are actually reading and enjoying my story.

Breakfast the next morning was quiet. Everyone had used up all their energy trying to pretend things were normal the night before, and no one wanted to keep it up that morning. Smiles were forced, jokes went unvoiced, and Mavros sat by Iris’s side opposite their children and stayed there. 

Hyacinth munched on a poptart, pressing himself close to Iris. He may not have understood what was going on, but he picked up on the mood of the ship swiftly. 

“How are you holding up?” Mavros asked softly. The hair from his ponytail slid over his shoulder and down his back when he turned his head, stunningly vibrant even in the fluorescent lights that made everyone look washed-out and pale. 

“I’m alright.” Iris shrugged, shifting their suit to cover Violet and their exposed chest a little better as she nursed. “What about you?” 

Mavros shrugged, clearly trying to be nonchalant. “I’m fine. This isn’t my first impostor rodeo.” 

Iris felt their eyebrows knit together. “It’s not Red’s or Green’s either. Gods. This is the kind of thing that you hear about on the news, but you never… never expect for it to happen to a ship that you’re on, you know?” 

Mavros nodded. He opened his mouth to say something, but Yellow’s voice rang out—clearly pretending to be trying for a whisper, but wanting Iris to hear him—from the other table. “It’s a fucking _disgusting_ display, is what it is.” 

Mavros’s mouth shut with the audible _click_ of tooth-on-tooth, and Iris leaned around him to watch Yellow, who was pointedly not looking at them. 

“Something bothering you, Yellow?” they asked dryly. 

The man scoffed. “I just don’t see how you think that kind of thing’s appropriate, is all.” 

Dubious, Iris looked down. Half-finished hashbrown, carton of orange juice, remnants of the foil Hyacinth’s poptart came in. “What the fuck are you talking about?” 

Yellow whipped around. His shaved-bald head glistened with fluorescent lights. Loudly, and slowly, the way assholes addressed someone with hearing or processing difficulties, he said: “No… one… wants… to… see… your… tits!” 

Iris stared at him in bewilderment, then looked down at theirself again. Between Violet and the bagginess of their unzipped suit, as well as the angle of the tank top they half pulled up, no part of their chest was really visible. 

Iris looked back at him. “I’m feeding my baby.” 

“Then do it in the privacy of your room!” Yellow demanded. “You don’t see me sitting here whipping my dick out at breakfast!” 

Words escaped Iris. They opened their mouth to say something, anything, and all that came out were sputtered consonants and vowels. Mavros, luckily, did not suffer the same fate. 

“Do you feed children with your dick?” 

The phrase itself was kind of funny—Iris heard a muffled laugh from either Orange or Blue at the adjacent table—but Mavros’s grin was that of incredulousness, not amusement. “I’m genuinely asking. Did your wife leave you or something because every night you pulled your cock out and went here, honey, dinner for you and the kids!” 

“Of _course not_!” Yellow’s face was red with rage and disgust. 

“Then how is it at all comparable?!” Mavros asked. “Breasts aren’t sexual oragans, you fucking deviant, they exist solely to feed babies. They’re not there for you to oogle for three minutes before you cum prematurely and leave the poor breast-haver unsatisfied. What kind of ass-backwards colony did you come from? I thought the assholes like you got left behind on the Lost Planet to make sure you wouldn’t poison the Mother Planet.” 

Yellow practically _vibrated_ with anger. But, understandably retort-less—given that his objection had never held any water to begin with—he just gestured lamely to Lime. “It’s making her uncomfortable.” 

Iris raised their eyebrows. Lime _did_ look uncomfortable, thought Iris couldn’t tell if it was from their chestfeeding or the scene Yellow had caused. 

“Well, lucky for them, there are about a hundred other things in the room they can look at.” Iris replied, speaking to Yellow but looking at Lime. “I have a right to feed my children. I’m not going to quarantine myself because my baby needs to eat and I’m not going to make her go hungry either.” 

“As you shouldn’t.” Pink said. “Don’t worry, Purple, we’re not gonna make you leave to feed your kid. They’re being ridiculous. Ignore them.” 

“Making a scene over something so stupid,” Blue muttered to Orange. “Right after Cyan died, too. What kind of asswipe…” 

The crew went back to their own hushed conversations. Yellow left a lingering glare with Mavros, and then turned back to his breakfast. 

“We better watch our backs,” Iris joked, “or he’ll shoot us in our spines.” 

Mavros scoffed a little, leaning onto the table. “I’m not afraid of _him_. He’s just another super-macho man who thinks that people he perceives as women should bow at his feet.” 

“Normally I would argue that you can’t know him that well when you barely talk to him, but, well,” Iris shrugged. 

Hyacinth tugged at their elbow, confusion in his baby-blues. “He was mad a’ you for feeding Viole’?” 

Iris nodded. “It’s something you might understand better when you’re older, but there are a lot of people who see breasts as something that should only be exposed when parents are making babies together, even though they’re meant to feed babies with.” 

Hyacinth stared at the table, a wrinkle in his forehead as he focused hard. He concluded, “Tha’s _dumb_.” 

“You’re a man of high intellect, I see.” Mavros nodded wisely, leaning around Iris to tell him so. 

Hyacinth glowed with the compliment. “Thank you. Wha’s in’ell… into… inte….” 

“Intellect is intelligence.” 

Iris gave Mavros a look. Mavros was already cringing, recognizing his mistake. 

“Wha’s intelly…” 

“Intelligence means smartness.” Iris clarified. “He was saying you’re very smart.” 

Hyacinth beamed. “Thank you, Mr. Mavros.” 

“No problem, buddy.” 

*** 

The horns blared as Iris was transported from Security to the Cafeteria. As soon as they had their bearing they grabbed a hold of Hyacinth, stopping him from taking his helmet off even as they yanked their own off of their head. 

White and Pink were both panting hard, having clearly _run_ for the button—which Iris had seen them doing, and hadn’t thought anything of. Pink was _always_ running, like one of those kids in elementary school that thought being the fastest boy got you a girlfriend. White pointed to Pink and declared, in a voice that was surprisingly strong for her ghostly appearance, “I saw him vent!” 

Pink’s eyes went wide. “No! No it was White who vented! She vented into MedBay and tried to kill me but she missed!” 

“No, no, no, no!” White shook her finger, still pointing. “It’s the opposite! _I_ was doing a scan—” 

“Where’s Orange?” Red interrupted. 

“He went to the bathroom,” Blue answered. 

“Um,” Lime pointed out the window. “I don’t think he made it.” 

Everyone turned to see what Lime was looking at. Floating away from _the Skeld_ was a small orange figure. Iris’s jaw dropped. 

_There really was an impostor among them._

A thud, like a body hitting a table, drew Iris’s attention. When they saw that Blue has seized Pink by the front of his suit and was now pinning him onto the table, they swept Hyacinth up in their arms and tucked the visor part of his helmet against their shoulder so he couldn’t see as Blue reared back and punched Pink in the face hard enough that his head snapped back and hit the metall of the table. 

“ _YOU BASTARD!_ ” Blue had a wild look in his eyes. “ _HE TRUSTED YOU!_ ” 

Lime shouted something as Red commanded everyone to calm, Iris unable to discern what either of them said. They leaned into Mavros’s side for comfort, to know someone had their back, as Brown and Red stepped forward to pull Blue off of Pink. Mavros wrapped his arm around Iris, keeping them close. 

“What the hell’s gotten into you?” Red demanded. 

Blue bared his teeth. “They got into an argument last night! I didn’t hear what it was about, but it was bad! My brother said he’d never talk to this _hijo de puta_ again!” 

“Good enough for me!” Yellow said. He slammed his finger against the forearm tablet, and the notification sound of a cast vote arose from tablets around the table. 

“No, Az,” Pink’s voice was muffled. His lip dripped blood. Iris double checked to make sure Hyacinth couldn't see anything. “Az, _please_ , I would never do anything to hurt Naranja, you know that!” 

“I know _Arrosa_ would never hurt him!” Blue spat, struggling against Red and Brown’s grips. “But I wouldn't put anything past the bastard that put on Arrosa’s face and paraded around as him!” 

Another notification went up. Lime had voted against Pink. She chewed on her lip and lowered her head. 

“I saw him vent into MedBay,” White reiterated. “He’s an impostor. We need to get rid of him.” 

“Ah, hell.” Green sighed heavily, like she was handling some enormous weight. “All the evidence points to him.” 

Her vote went up. Mavros’s followed, his face hard to read when Iris tilted their head up to look at him. Iris tapped at their own screen and closed their eyes. Red, Brown, and Blue didn’t get to vote—too busy struggling with the subject of Blue trying to murder Pink with his bare hands. Pink voted for White, but it was still six votes to four, when White’s was cast. 

Red and Brown released Blue, only to take Pink by the arms. He struggled weakly, but mostly he wept openly, pleading with Blue in particular to believe him. 

“I didn’t even know they knew each other,” Iris said quietly. 

“Neither did I.” Mavros responded. “I’m all done with tasks. What about you?” 

The airlock door shut, cutting off the sound of Pink’s pleading. 

“Yeah, I am.” Iris whispered. 

“Okay. You wanna just sit in here until dinner?” 

Iris tried not to look at the window as Pink’s spiraling from shrank. “No, I’d honestly rather be anywhere else until dinner. My quarters.” 

Mavros let go of them. “Do you want me with you?” 

“Please?” Iris met his eyes, trying not to let on just how unsettled they were. “I… would really like the company of a friend.” 

Mavros nodded. His face was still unreadable, but his touch was soothing as he put his hand at the small of Iris’s back. “Let’s go. I’ve got you.” 

The crew dispersed. Iris and Mavros took Hyacinth back to the Purple quarters, and to keep him occupied Iris hooked up the entertainment cube to his suit speakers, so he could watch and listen to his cartoons as they sat on the bed with their head in their hands as Mavros sat beside them, cradling Violet in his arms. 

“Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh?” they asked dryly, staring at the floor as they swept back stray curls that had escaped their headband. “I should’ve stayed on the Mother Planet.” 

“Iris.” Mavros wanted their attention and they gave it to him, brown eyes cornering themselves and watching his face be the picture of sincerity. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” 

They turned their head to give him a wry smile. “You think you can hold your own against an impostor?” 

He shot one back at them. “Better than you think I can, yeah.” 

Iris leaned back, nodding. “You know, we may not technically be friends.” 

“Mightn’t we?” 

“Yeah. I mean—obviously you’re kind to me, and I trust you, but I hardly know anything about you. And I haven’t told you anything about me. We can’t really be friends if we don’t know each other.” 

Mavros shrugged. “There isn’t a lot to know about me.” 

“What was your childhood like?” Iris asked. “We can start there.” 

She watched him sigh and slide back against the wall. “I dunno. It was normal? Like I said, I grew up travelling ship to ship. Mom and Dad travelled a lot for work, so we really only spent a couple months on any planet at any time. We’d meet up with their coworkers and their kids for a while.” 

“What did your parents do?” 

“Odd jobs. Like I am now. Finding work wherever work is needed.” He shifted his hold on Violet. “She’s asleep. Is that her pod over there?” 

“Yeah, go ahead and tuck her in.” Iris allowed. Mavros got off the bed and gently set Violet down in her crib-like pod, meant to provide emergency oxygen to her by recycling her CO2 in the event of an oxygen failure. Hyacinth had one too. “What’s the deal between you and White?” 

Mavros stiffened very suddenly, not a wholly unexpected response. He was clearly testy about her being mentioned, or her being around him. But he was already answering questions. 

“She’s…” Mavros didn’t lift his head to speak to Iris. “She’s something like a childhood friend. She doesn’t like me talking to you.” 

Iris pressed their lips together, biting their tongue. They’d long ago run out of patience for people who tried to dictate who others could and could not speak to. “That sounds unhealthy.” 

He sighed in response. “Yeah. Yeah it is. But we’re kind of… we’re… our parents are…” 

“I understand.” Iris relieved him. They may not know the exact circumstance, but they didn’t have to. Family getting involved was always rough and overly complicated, and they were sure he didn’t want to talk about it. “Do you know why she's always staring at Hyacinth and Violet?” 

“She just likes kids.” Mavros said. He almost said something more, closed his mouth, and then sank back onto the mattress besides where Iris sat. “I mean, who doesn’t?” 

“Yellow, apparently.” Iris scowled. “Did you see him earlier when you were doing the download?” 

“What did he do?” Mavros’s eyebrows knit together in concern. 

“Dickbag gestured like he was gonna throw Hyacinth into the airlock because he was playing with his cars too close.” Iris’s fists clenched at the memory. “He was all alone, too. He keeps abandoning Lime. I hope Pink was the impostor, so we know she’s safe, but I can’t shake… there’s this feeling in my gut that says we’re not out of the woods yet.” 

There was silence for a moment, before Mavros asked, “What was _your_ childhood like?” 

“Oh, you know. Split household. Parents divorced before I was really old enough to form memories of them being together. Younger half-siblings, two of each holiday. Mental illness, isolation from peers, marriage, children, widow, ship infested with impostors.” Iris sighed and laid back on the bed, their feet still dangling over the edge from their knees. “You know I don’t like being touched? _Love_ touching other people. Love communicating my affection that way. Hate actually _being_ touched. It’s a very confusing situation.” 

“So I guess the hug I was about to give you is out of the question.” 

Iris laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s nicer when you ask me beforehand.” 

Mavros leaned over them. “May I hug you?” 

Iris sat up and opened their arms. “Yes you may.” 

His arms wrapped around them, and reciprocated the embrace. Usually this would be about when their skin started crawling, but they actually weren’t too bothered by Mavros’s touch. They… kind of liked it. It was soothing. 

How odd. How pleasant.


End file.
